Lubricant consumption in France declined 8% to 43,869 tons in October, compared to the same month last year, Paris-based Professional Lubricants Center reported in data released Dec. 15. Automotive lubricants consumption dropped 13%, industrial lubricants decreased 2% and process oils usage fell 4%.
France consumed 21,469 tons of automotive lubricants in October, compared to 24,670 tons in the same month a year ago. Demand for passenger car engine oil dropped 16% to 11,978 tons, while sales of engine oils for commercial diesel vehicles fell 32% to 985 tons. Automatic transmission fluids sales decreased 7% to 825 tons, and consumption of automotive greases declined 10% to 393 tons.
Industrial lubricants demand – excluding process oils – declined to 16,889 tons, down from 16,955 tons.
Hydraulic oil use was down 4%, but two of its three categories posted an upswing – high-viscosity-index oils, which were up 1% at 3,744 tons and non-flammable oils, which increased 4% to 859 tons. The one category posting a decline was standard-viscosity-index oils, which fell 15% to 1,598 tons.
Industrial grease consumption jumped up 48% to 2,266 tons.
Among metalworking fluid variants, consumption of non-soluble types increased 9% to 1,717 tons, while demand for soluble types fell 26% to 1,458 tons.
Turbine oil consumption climbed 18% to 260 tons. Although overall demand for compressor oils was flat at 218 tons, consumption of refrigeration compressor oils declined 13% to 66 tons, while demand for other compressor oil types increased 8% to 152 tons.
Consumption of process oils decreased to 5,511 tons, compared to 5,167 tons.
Economies are slowing throughout Europe due to impacts from the war in Ukraine and counter-inflation measures. In addition to those factors, France has experienced refinery strikes and fuel shortages. Supply chain disruptions experienced since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have improved just a bit, according to a survey of business leaders conducted by the Bank of France’s Oct. 27-Nov. 4.